60 Minute Brand Strategist: Extended and updated hard cover NOW available.

“Like human beings, all brands are born equal. The trick is to prove one isn’t. Branding is the art and science of identifying and fulfilling human physical and emotional needs by capturing attention, imagination and emotion long enough to make money from it.” – Idris Mootee 1 2

Copyright © 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009 Idris Mootee All rights reserved. Published by Idea Couture Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo- copying, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107, 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher. Request to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permission Department at permission@ideacouture.com. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. A number of brand names and trademarks are mentioned and used in this book are protected under copyright laws and international treaty provisions. All trademarks, services marks, trade names, logos and icons are proprietary to their respective owner. Their inclusion in this book is for the purpose of criticism and illustration only. 60-Minute Brand Strategist – Limited Edition Book and cover design: Sali Tabacchi 3 1

Contents: Introduction 4 All About Brands 7 Branding in a Postmodern Culture 39 Strategic Perspectives of Branding 49 Managing Brand Meaning 79 Brand Leadership 119 Luxury Brand Marketing 133 2 3

IntroductIon This book is about only one thing: brands, branding and the only sustainable form of leadership in an economy ruled by ideas – brand innovation and leadership. Its been 8 years since 60-minute Brand Strategist was first published as a book. Adapted from slides I used in my Advanced Branding Seminar, the first edition was translated and published in several languages, including Japanese, Chinese and German. Dr. Morgan Gerard collaborates with me to develop this limited edition, updated and abridged version by popular demand. We decided to select a few of the book’s chapters that deliver the essence of the concepts. These concepts and techniques are used by the world’s most successful and valuable brands. But you’ll rarely, if ever, read much about these concepts in business magazines. Why? Simply put, they’re trade secrets. Well-wielded branding tools and techniques are powerful, competitive weapons used to win the hearts and minds of customers. Time and again, they help defeat the competition. Consider what follows a battle plan designed to inspire, act as a reminder, function as a tool kit and be drawn upon as a reference that should sit on every marketing and brand executive’s desk. Idris Mootee, CEO Idea Couture Inc. 4 5

all about brands 6 7

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU What Is a brand? I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE In a world where brands rule, products YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU are no longer bundles of functional characteristics but rather means to provide and enhance customer experiences. Thanks to the internet and wireless tech- I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE nologies, information is so abundant YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU that consumers are overloaded. They have more information than they can digest, use, need or even want. Product proliferation creates so many I I I I I I I I I I I I choices that it diminishes our ability to LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE differentiate or choose what we truly value. YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU Brands help us choose. They are invaluable tools that help us break through clutter to make choices based on our experience of I I I I I I I I I I I I and satisfaction with products or services. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU 8 9 I I I I I I I I I I I I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I YOU I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU ME YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU 10 11 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU There will be a “ I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE time using a OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU logo will be the “In technocratic and colorless worst thing I I I I I I I I I times, brands bring warmth, YOU VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE ME, familiarity and trust.” OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU TOO in the world.” – Peter Brabeck, Nestle I I I I I I I I I I I I – Bill Bernbach, VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Founder DDB OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU We’re a long long way from that day. The truth is that people like brands. They I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE not only simplify choices and guarantee OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU quality, but they also add fun and interest, provide aspirations and dreams. Some people love them like children, which might explain why I personally know of a 4-year I I I I I I I I I I I I old boy named Nike, an 8-year old named VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Ferrari and a 12-year old girl named Hermès. OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU LOGO I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE OU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU YOU 12 13 I I I I I I I I I I I I VE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE

a brand Is not… a brand Is… A TRADE MARk POINT OF VIEW (These are legal properties.) Branding is a strategic point of view, not a select set of marketing activities. A MISSION STATEMENT (This is a reminder.) CUSTOMER VALUE Branding is central to creating customer A LOGO OR SLOGAN value, not just sound bites and images. (These are your signatures.) COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE A PRODUCT OR SERVICE Branding is a key tool for creating and (These are just the tangibles.) sustaining competitive advantages. ADVERTISING ENGINEERED (They deliver your messages.) Brand strategies must be “engineered” into the strategic planning process. ALIVE Brands get their identity from meanings. Products and services are the blood of a brand. Your organizational culture and standards for action are the heartbeat. LOGIC AND EMOTION Branding is part science and part art. ITEM WORkING ITEM WORkING IN ISOLATION IN ISOLATION A BRAND IS MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS. ITEM WORkING ITEM WORkING IN ISOLATION IN ISOLATION 14 15

BRANDS HAVE ALMOST BECOME IDEOLOGIES. 16 17

“The art of marketing is the art of brand building. If you are not a brand, you are a commodity. Then price is everything and the low-cost producer is the only winner.” – Philip kotler, kellogg 18 19

To plan for one year, What Is a brand? grow sales. “A brand is the ‘personification of a product, service, or even entire company.’ Like any person, a brand has a physical To plan for three years, ‘body’: in P&G’s case, the products and/or services it provides. Also, like a person, a brand has a name, a personality, character grow channel. and a reputation. Like a person, you can respect, like and even love a brand. You can think of it To plan for decades, as a deep personal friend, or merely an acquaintance. You can view it as dependable grow a brand. or undependable; principled or opportunistic; caring or capricious. Just as you like to be around certain people and not others, so also do you like to be with certain brands and not others. Also, like a person, a brand must mature and change its product over time. But its character, and core beliefs shouldn’t change. Neither should its fundamental personality and outlook on life. People have character…so do brands. A person's character flows from his/her integrity: the ability to deliver under pressure, the willingness to do what is right rather than what is expedient. You judge a person’s character by his/her past performance and the way he/she thinks and acts in both good times, and especially bad. The same are true of brands.” – Robert Blanchard, former P&G executive BRAND CHANNEL SALES VALUE 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 YEARS 20 21

1. 2. the customer satIsfactIon What is the What is our core treadmIll deep need that competence? Daniel kahneman of Princeton describes the Customer Satisfaction Treadmill. we satisfy? What are we The more we make, the more we spend, the more we want. The faster we get it, the faster we want it. The more convenient What is our really good at? it becomes, the more we realize just how convenient it could be. The more raison d’être? our unreasonable demands are met, the more unreasonable they become. METAPHYSICAL NEEDS EXPERIENTAL NEEDS SYMBOLIC NEEDS FUNCTIONAL NEEDS 22 23

brand In a world predisposed to sameness, there are few things in life more satisfying than taxonomIes building brands that disrupt predisposition. Brands move market share. Brands move advertising award judges. Brands move culture. Some do all. Brand has meaning beyond functionality that exists in people's minds. Part art, part science, brand is the difference between a bottle of soda and a bottle of Coke, a computer and an iMac, a cup of coffee and a cup of Starbucks, a car and a Mercedes, a designer’s hand bag and a Hermès Birkin. Brand is the intangible yet visceral impact of a person's subjective experience with the product, the personal memories and cultural associations that orbit around it. Brands are also about messages – strong, exciting, distinct, authentic messages that tell people who you are, what you think and why you do what you do. BRANDS THAT FOCUS ON THEIR MEANINGS AND VALUES RATHER THAN FUNCTIONS. BRANDS THAT BRANDS THAT HAVE ALMOST BECOME ARE TIGHTLY IDENTIFIED PRODUCT PRODUCT- WITH THE PRODUCT INDEPENDENT OR RANGE OF PRODUCTS BRANDS THAT FOCUS LARGELY ON THEIR CORE FUNCTIONS AND PURPOSES 24 25

too much the most common advertIsIng WIth too Issues WIth brandIng lIttle meanIng? Cannot justify the cost for brand re-positioning. Where’s the ROI? Management does CUSTOMER VALUE not understand why we need to have BRAND MEANING a brand strategy. BRAND ADVERTISING CUSTOMER VALUE BRAND MEANING BRAND ADVERTISING Management thinks branding is just another logo with a Sales and marketing new tag line. aren’t reading the same book, let alone the same page. Brand vision and company reality do not match. 26 27

Why brands are In What Is a brand? trouble? Don’t make the mistake of letting brand image take over and become brand identity. It’s only part of the equation, not the answer. BRANDS ARE BEING BRANDS STRUGGLE MASS-PRODUCED TO FIND THEIR IN BRAND FACTORIES OWN IDENTITIES There’s a movement of Too many me-too conservatism in brands and too brand investment. Many much me-too advertising. have gone from inspirational Many brands and daring to cautionary have lost their souls. CORPORATE INTERNAL and risk averse. STRATEGY BRANDING Everyone is looking for a save formula. brand strategy BRAND IMAGE BRAND CUSTOMER IDENTITY ENGAGEMENT BRANDS HAVE LOST BRANDS ARE WORN THEIR MYSTIqUE FROM OVERUSE Consumers understand As brand manuals gets how marketing works thicker and heavier, and they are brand savvy. you know you’re in trouble. BRAND Be careful not to Instructional menus ATTRIBUTES over-market a brand. replace imagination. BRAND ASSOCIATIONS 28 29

What is a Brand? What Is a brand? The trust-based, value-producing Today you may have a name and a A brand is an intangible asset that resides in relationship called a brand is proof that the trademark, but it will take time (and much people’s hearts and minds. It’s defined by company is organizationally aligned to more) before you have a brand. Brand the expectations people have about tangible repeat the process and sustain the values. building is the creation and management of and intangible benefits that are developed Find and establish your niche. Clarify your inward cash flow with brand equity as the over time by communications and, more distinct ability to make an impact. savings account. Managing brand is about importantly, by actions! To build a successful Determine the desired relationship how marketers and consumers collaborate brand means doing the following four things: between your customers/prospects and to create meanings. Brand building is not an 1. MAkIng A proMIse your product. option. roI is only relevant when considering 2. CoMMunICATIng your proMIse Create intangible, emotional bonds alternative marketing programs. Brand 3. keepIng your proMIse through every customer interaction. equity is a big elephant: looking at financial 4. sTrengThenIng your proMIse Like people, brand requires a name, a returns alone is unacceptable. you must personality, a character and a reputation. understand the whole beast. The tangible aspect of your brand is a Brand management is a crucial element promise. What do you do best? What’s the of corporate strategy rather than solely payoff? What can your consumer count a marketing function. It helps a company on? This promise becomes an intrinsic part break away from the pack in creating of your marketing message. In order shareholder value. Brand strategy is the for you to own it, you must communicate viable expression of business strategy. strategically and creatively across a broad media mix. Both your internal and external audiences must be true believers of the promise. And the only way to make them truly believe is to be true about the promise. 1. MAkING A PROMISE 2. COMMUNICATING YOUR PROMISE BRAND STRATEGY CORPORATE STRATEGY 3. kEEPING YOUR PROMISE 4. STRENGTHENING YOUR PROMISE 30 31

mInd over matter Advantages built on emotional values and brand meanings (e.g. Levis, Nike, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Harley-Davison, Apple, Sony) Psychological differences may seem are often the most durable. insubstantial, but in terms of sustainability, they are often more resilient than functional differences. Intangible emotional associations are difficult to copy: Once an emotional territory is occupied by a well known brand, it is more difficult to displace than a brand with a functional claim. PERSONALITY TRUST TIMELESS UNIqUE 32 33

products vs. brands A product is built A brand is built of trust in a factory. and relationships A product is an object. A brand is a personality. A product is sold by A brand is bought by a merchant. a customer. A product is easily copied A brand is unique. by a competitor. A great brand is timeless. A product is quickly outdated. 34 35

mInd over matter buIldIng strong brands Without the brand, Apple would have been dead. The power of the brand kept Branding is often confused with an them alive during the mid-1990s when advertising campaign or a corporate identity. their products were lackluster. The brand Companies are still turning to branding bought them time until they came out as a panacea. Equally problematic are the with the next runaway hit – the iMac. self-proclaimed branding experts happy For Apple, the brand is always bigger than to sell you pricey snake oil. In novice hands, the product. It is an ideology, a value set. branding becomes a way to obfuscate Apple is about imagination, innovation and relative sameness or make promises that individualism. can’t be fulfilled, instead of communicating It’s not just about advertising or visual relevant uniqueness and building trust identity. Brands must be built 360 degrees. and credibility. Branding means that collateral information, meaning, association and value has been spiced into the very DNA of the brand. This has two core components: label and fable. Label refers to all visual elements, packaging and taglines. Fables are the extrinsic aspect of branding attached from the outside and most often from customer experiences, advertising, corporate trust and customer relationships. The brand is the totality of what the customer experiences: the look and feel of your office, your community reputation, your awning and signage, your sales and customer service people, the way you handle business conflicts and customer complaints. INNOVATION Three key requirements for building strong brands: IMAGINATION 1. Trust between brand and consumer 2. Common identity between brand and consumer 3. Point of difference between brands in a set INDIVIDUALISM 36 37

brandIng In a postmodern culture 38 39

brandIng In the age transformatIon of brand Is a process, transformatIon a performance Brands are transforming themselves. As content is increasingly delivered via To make the story of a brand complete Beyond mere ads and products, they are personalized and self-scheduled social webs, and meaningful, it requires that all of finding new ways to get inside your viewers – not broadcasters – will decide the actors – customers and companies alike home and be a part of your life as branded when, how, why and what is consumed. – successfully complete transitions from content, branded entertainment, branded And they will dictate who they share that scene to scene and stage to stage. In today’s utilities and branded space. L’Equipe, the consumption with. script, those transitions read like this: Parisian based daily sports newspaper, The question is, What role should brand invented the Tour de France for one simple play in this age of transformation? reason: to sell more newspapers, branded content with a pinch of engagement. But customers are transforming brands, too. New cultural modes of performance are emerging from new network-based social behaviors and conversations. With over 50 million people able to share ideas, opinions and experiences in a single online space – and generate billions of web page impressions every month – these behaviors Interruption is the stage Intrusion is the stage Engagement is the curtain call of this and conversations are creating a seismic where old scripts get between what was and what performance. A celebration of the shift in the traditional balance of power that shredded, rules get tossed will be. A wild zone of new new reality and the ideas and rituals once existed between customers and out the window and the ideas and new rituals, it is alive that brought it to life, brands that companies. paradigms we lived by with uncertainty, excitement will occupy centre stage are those are revealed as obsolete. and expectation. This gestative that contribute the new ideas, help facilitate the new rituals, meet the new The Internet is our Inter- space where customers and needs and, ultimately, tell the best ruption. It has forever companies create and explore stories. Those who ignore this new ruptured the old system brand futures is where we reality do so at their own peril. of brand control and are right now. communication. INTERRUPTION INTRUSION ENGAGEMENT 40 41

dIstrIbutIon Is nothIng content Is everythIng When distribution is trivial, unlimited and Great content – the kind that truly engages available to all, marketing to a captive – helps customers tell a story, perform audience sitting on a couch in front of a box a part of their life, communicate meaning to is a thing of the past. In fact, this kind of others and be all that they can be. It is, old-world marketing has become adversarial quite simply, cultural. to customers. Having adapted to the In the past, the clearest demonstration of media-fragmented and always-on new content (and brands) as cultural was in reality, they seek value by searching, the subculture. Punks, mods, ravers, skaters, discovering and sharing their very personal church-goers, artists, bikers and others brand caches with peers – not waiting made commodities come to life through for you to interrupt them with unwanted performances like no other consumers messaging. on earth. Today, because of the scope and Broadcasting is in trouble, and user- reach of social media, we are in an age of generated videos are just the beginning. the post-subcultural. The Hipster, a mash-up The social-casting of YouTube will of subcultural traditions, has become the evolve and, in the process, so too will emblem of insider-ness made accessible to consumer behavior. Instead of passivity, all with the Internet. the experience flow of tomorrow will Just as subculturalists were the creative be characterized by immediacy, flexibility, class of brand dissemination, modification, portability, permeability, fluidity, alteration and transformation, so now are interactivity, mashability and ownerability. the millions of people around the world who, With the emergence and convergence through social media, have access to insider of the mobile phone, the Internet and knowledges, practices, experiences, location-based-systems, consumers also performances and collaborative communities. have immediate access to co-workers, This occurs through YouTube, Flickr, friends and family members. Between Twitter, Facebook and the thousands of online CONTENT getting used to and being born into advice, support, co-creation and retail a connected age, they are naturally and portals. The relentless virtualization of social increasingly drawing on participation life, the marketing of niche-interactions, in various networks for information, the sharing of experiences and the out- assistance, support and recommendations. sourcing of work means that less and less of Creating great products, services and our daily lives are produced and consumed content is paramount. Content? Yes, at home. Rather, we are performing content. An integral part of any product or ourselves more in public, more collabor- service and their related experiences, atively and more than every through customers will consume only what’s relevant the kinds of very social networks that once to them, what best serves them, and what existed solely in subcultures. truly entertains them – not what is marketed to them by you through repetition. Engaging them will require branded experiences rich in content that strengthen contextual involvement and consumer connection. Within such experiences, the density and intensity of polysemic, multi-origin, co-created and fragmented communication will make Baudrillard’s hyper-reality seem as antiquated as TV. 42 43

the personal brand What Is the problem? “We spent eight In the age of the Personal Brand, Many companies are simply not ready to “We hired a brand consultant commoditization is permeating every aspect deal with or anticipate identity obsolescence and developed a great of daily life. Style, taste, identity and like they anticipate the obsolescence of months and a brand strategy. Our ad individuality have become central to what products or business models. Despite the agency went on to create we expect from our experiences in best efforts of management teams, many and produce an ad lot of money on health care, learning, dating, news, clothing, can’t adapt to shifts in the competitive campaign that far exceeded food, travel, home furnishings, com- environment because the required brand- our capability to deliver a brand strategy munication, sports, entertainment, sexuality, driven adaptive response is inconsistent the brand promise. We spirituality, birth, marriage, babies and with the company’s core identity. Any brand ended up with disappointed and all that’s burials. Twenty years ago, in the social exercise will only widen the gap between customers, internal mainstream, this wasn’t the case. Sub- the brand and the corporate core identity. conflicts and brand credibility changed is the culturalists were particularly picky about erosion.” their purchases, but the average – CEO, Telco logo and tagline.” consumer had a less refined sense of assembling their self through products and services. Today, instant communication has – CEO, Financial Services Company blown the doors clear off of the old-world media and advertising industry. Taste gurus, micro-brands, blogs, chatters, Friends, Tweeters, citizen journalists and the searchability of style have forever changed the how, what, where, when and why of consumption. In the new free-for-all of ideas, opinions, reviews and experiences, individuals with greater access to information strive to define and display their Personal Brand, niche is the norm, cool is hyper-commoditized and branding becomes as much a bottom-up phenomenon for customers as a top-down priority for companies Brands One result is that we have become desperate to socialize the profane. Distracted by the pace of change, unfulfilled in our personal lives and feeling disempowered by our work, many of us turn to celebrities, rock stars, designers and brands to cultivate more meaning in life. But when work is empowering and life is meaningful, interest and engagement in high-consumption lifestyles will wane. De-marketing will happen. “I want to be cool.” Until then, a brand’s role is to help to create meanings in everyday life through commodities. Consumers 44 45

savIng your can socIal medIa Many B-school case studies have chronicled brands brought back from the dead. But ZombIe brands save the for every success, there are hundreds of ZombIe brands? failures: companies that tried to revitalize Zombie Brands, Dinosaurs Brands, Ghost old brands by hiring new agencies and Brands or Graveyard Brands are what The Social Media Generation has throwing endless amounts of money into people used to call brands that customers phenomenal influence over the fate of advertising in hopes of rebuilding, even have either completely abandoned or brands. Active, mobile and vocal, when there wasn't a relevant product, service that are simply hanging on by a thread, they share the joys, angers and frustrations or sound strategy behind the initial move. usually at a Dollar Store or at Costco of their daily experiences with anybody How bad is your situation? Here are the three in a totally unrelated product category. and everybody. In doing so, their digital most common scenarios: Some have gone through unsuccessful connectivity becomes the web that weaves revitalization efforts, others exist only in Brand Communities. Separated by emerging markets, a few have simply their geography but bound by their love My brand is sick. lost relevance in their core market place of a particular brand, citizens of these (Xerox, Oldsmobile) to be used casually communities can be identified by four on products totally outside their product core markers: Market changes direction and the brand category (Teac, RCA, Polaroid etc.). become irrelevant. Everyone (advertising, • Shared intereStS product design, promotions) used to • Shared valueS If you happen to own a Zombie Brand, understand what the brand means and they • Shared ritualS what can you do? all stick to it, believing it connects to • Shared purpoSeS something larger and more enduring. But 1. INVEST AND ATTEMPT TO REVITALIZE IT one day they woke up and realized there The commercial, mass‐mediated ethos in 2. MILk IT was a big disconnect. Your brand is stuck in which Brand Communities are situated 3. POSITION IT FOR THE EMERGING MARkET the past. YOUR BRAND IS IRREVELANT. affects their character and structure and 4. SELL IT FOR WHATEVER IT’S WORTH 5. DUMP IT gives rise to their particularities. From a brand and marketing perspective, this is the My brand is Consumers with special relationships to most disruptive trend. It means that Zombie Brands often have sentimental Social Media, not advertising, has become dying. reasons for continuing to make purchases the conduit for communication and that or for giving them a second chance. But customers are the collective source of truth the cost and risk of bringing a brand back for brands. Given the right new content, to life is enormous. If this is your choice, The brand is becoming boring. It doesn’t the Brand Community is a possible cure for make sure the decision to do so is based create excitement for customers or even the Zombie Brand. on sound logic. If you run a large portfolio, employees anymore. Younger consumers the questions will be: Which brands are think of it as their parents’ brand. This worth the revitalization effort? And Why? is common with brands that have been successful and achieved market leadership. In fact, it’s often the result of being too successful. Your successful past has made you lazy. YOUR BRAND LACkS CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT. My Brand Has No Vital Signs. You’ve ignore your brand for too long or simply let it ride to expiry. Every drop of energy and goodwill has been squeezed out. It has lost its power to capture your customers' (or even your own) imagination. Your brand is a shell of existence. IT HAS BEEN REDUCED TO NOTHING MORE THAN A LOGO. 46 47

strategIc perspectIves of brandIng 48 49

“We have a surplus “We also have a surplus The average consumer is exposed to as many as 30,000 messages per day, of of similar companies, of similar brands, which more than 3,000 are branded. Many studies indicate that less than 10% of prime time ads have clear positioning. employing similar having similar attributes, Between 1999 and 2000, the number of new packaged goods introduced people, with similar with similar marketing increased by more than 20%, the largest increase in a decade. Most of these educational back- messages and were “me-too” products destined to be lost in the crowd and to reduce some grounds, working slogans, coming up brands to a near-commodity status. In a world where brands abound, in similar jobs, coming with similar brand competition is increasingly intense and the speed of competitive responses is ever shorter. The race is on to rise above the up with similar ideas, claims, with similar throng of brands and secure customer loyalty. But all too often, companies fall into producing similar quality, selling at similar the trap of thinking short-term, being overly ambitious or lacking a brand strategy. things, with similar prices. Welcome to prices and similar the Surplus Economy!” quality.” – Idris Mootee – kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale, Funky Business + + =? ENTERPRISE BEST STRATEGIC RESOURCE PRACTICES OUTSOURCING MANAGEMENT NOT ONLY ARE BRANDS SIMILAR, EVEN THE COMPANIES ARE NOW MORE OR LESS THE SAME OR NEARLY IDENTICAL 50 51

brandIng and economIc evolutIon mcdonaldIZatIon In the Surplus Economy, the marketing battle is a battle of the brands – a technology is often oriented towards McDonaldization is everywhere. Individualism competition for brand dominance. greater control and more consistent quality. and diversity are replaced by efficiency Companies will recognize that brands are The great source of uncertainty and and social control. It is the process by which a company’s most valuable assets unpredictability in a rationalizing system is the principles of the fast food restaurant and recognize that it is more important people — either the people who work dominate more and more sectors of our to own markets than factories. within those systems or the people who are society throughout the world. The only way to own markets is to own served. Branding advertising is used to McDonald’s has 30,000 restaurants in market-dominant brands. The brand put the human elements back. The warm 121 countries, 60% of which are outside the battlefields expand beyond advertising and smiling faces in TV commercials USA. Shopping centers are everywhere media and be fought on many grounds. are intended to convince customers about and the shops and merchandize are mostly “calculability” over “individuality”. the same. This trend is visible in many other businesses from toys, auto-repair, “(calculability) involves an emphasis on things that can convenient stores, consumer electronics to be calculated, counted, quantified. quantification refers to books and general merchandize. The a tendency to emphasize quantity rather than quality. This leads to a sense that quality is equal to a certain, usually “control” and “system” components are key. (but not always) large quantity of things.” Replacement of human by non-human The Battle of Brands SURPLUS ECONOMY INFORMATION ECONOMY SERVICE ECONOMY INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY VALUE TIME 52 53

customer fournIer’s customer relatIonshIps approach: relatIonshIps Most businesses have a relationship with their customers Meet with consumers (hundreds of people over several Managing Customer Relationships has that is based solely on price. That is why so many years) to listen to their life stories, discover their interests become Managing Software Vendor companies are having difficulties maintaining their margins. and goals, and hear about the ups & downs of their Relationships. So, what went wrong? The challenge is to figure out how to extend those daily lives. Then ask each person to describe his/her Shouldn’t companies be putting their money transaction-based relationships to emotional-based “brand portfolio” and to explain why they choose the back into developing the “R” of “CRM”? relationships. Professor Susan Fournier at Harvard products they do. Marketers and “CRM” vendors set Business School has classified the relationships consumers Fournier drew out seven essential attributes of good unrealistically high expectations when they have with their brands into fifteen types ranging across brand relationship quality: talk about “relationships”. Should the whole spectrum. They include: they be using a different word instead? “Traditionally, tactical marketing decisions – regarding packaging and advertising, for COMMITTED PARTNERSHIP ENSLAVEMENT INTERDEPENDENCE LOVE AND PASSION instance – are made by different people or Usually long-term and Involuntary relationship Brand is inextricably Consumers feel affection/ departments. A holistic understanding voluntary relationship: a governed exclusively by the woven into consumers’ passion for the products of the relationship that consumers have with man is so involved with partner’s wishes or desires: daily life and routine. and may experience a brand can give direction to a company’s his brand of bicycle that he a consumer is unhappy with separation anxiety if it’s marketing activities and result in a stronger becomes an advocate the local cable provider but not available. bond between consumer and brand” of it, singing its praises to has no alternative source for his friends. the service. – Susan Fournier Harvard Business School COMMITMENT SELF-CONCEPT CONNECTION “A good relationship is an asset. We can Consumers stick with Using the brand helps invest in relationships, and we can borrow the product through good consumers address a from them. We all do it but almost never or bad times either in life issue, such as a need manage it. Yet a company’s most precious his or her life style or in the to belong or a fear of asset is its relationship with customers.” product’s life cycle. growing old. – Theodore Levitt Harvard Business School INTIMACY PARTNER qUALITY Consumers describe a Consumers seek certain sense of deep familiarity positive traits in the brand with the product and such as dependability, an understanding of its trust, worthiness, and attributes. accountability – the same qualities as one would look for in a best friend. NOSTALGIC ATTACHMENT brand brings back memories either because it was used at an earlier time in life or because it was associated with loved ones 54 55

rIse and rIse of the brand The very technologies that make it faster, easier and cheaper to innovate also help us to imitate. The game switched from innovation to imitation. The increasing difficulty in differentiating between products, services and the speed with which competitors take up innovations will only assist in the rise and rise of the brand. Many of our dreams and desires for a better world are no longer articulated by John kennedys or Martin Luther kings, nor generated through personal epiphanies – they are now the intellectual currency of brands. When brands connect to inspiration and epiphany – personal, collective or conjured by leaders – they enter into a realm immune to imitation. 56 57

decIsIon map for decIsIon map for brand choIces brand leveragIng Does the brand currently serve strategically (size and profitability) important or attractive segments? Brand Leveraging Strategies YES NO Does the Are there brand qualify as any other strategic a Leadership reasons to retain Brand? the brand? YES YES NO NO Line Brand Extensions Extensions Does the Does it add brand have the Can the brand value to other potential be leveraged in existing brands or to become a new markets? businesses? Leadership Brand? YES NO NO YES Horizontal Vertical Another Product Brand Is there Co-Branding Are we willing Does it add Extension Extension Class Licensing a reason to keep or can we afford value to other or further develop to invest in existing brands or a brand in this the brand? businesses? category? NO NO YES YES NO YES Can the brand be extended as a product line? YES NO Up from Down from YES Core Brand Core Brand NO DEVELOP BRAND kEEP LEADERSHIP INTO SPIN-OFF PRODUCT- ROLL-UP AS NICHE LEADERSHIP OR DIVEST BRAND LINE BRAND BRAND 58 59

brandIng challenges Why Invest brandIng ratIonale strategIc In brands consIderatIons The challenge for brand management The traditional thinking around branding is finding ways of connecting with was to endow a product or service with If consumers are not prepared to pay for Companies customers that provide value, substance, unique characteristics through the creative differentiating activity by way of perceiving significance, meaning and usefulness use of name, slogan, packaging and or appreciating any unique qualities investing in brand beyond their current product and service advertising. In a world where there is a between brands there would be no economic definition and those offered competitively. muddle of images and messages, justification for branding exercises. In any building basically This requires deep understanding of however, it is increasingly difficult for a product category, if differences are not valued people’s lives. It means being smarter at brand to rise above the noise to be buyers tend to discriminate between brands have three simple developing real relationships. It also noticed and remembered. A more sophist- on the sole basis of price and availability. must be a dynamic process in keeping up icated and strategic concept of branding reasons for doing with changes in ever changing customer is needed. The rationale behind branding is The question is: wants and needs. One of the real keys to all about creating differentiation. Does it really long term brand success is investing so Differentiation leads to positive discrim- so: to drive customers like us, trust us, value us, keep ination, and large or at least profitable brand make sense to coming back to us, are willing to pay a share. Brand marketers must deliver customer loyalty, premium for us, and choose to take us into tangibles and/or intangibles that differentiate invest in building their lives. a brand. This differentiation not only to maintain For the most part, however, today’s needs to be perceived but also valued. brands in organizations work against this type of It is logical to assume that the main price premium, or brand success. The designs of most objective of branding is to create high invol- low involvement business organization are disaggregated. vement situations. If the branding exercise to increase Customers don’t think or act in organ- fails to deliver a relevant and valued izational silos, but organizations do. This differentiation to its targeted involvement markets? revenue growth. often blocks true understanding. How segments, then are its efforts are can we ever hope to understand customers unsuccessful? when we only concern ourselves with The real challenge Or, is it even possible to generate a small part of their lives, attitudes and high brand involvement in the face of low behaviors (that are defined by our category involvement? is not just building organizational role and responsibilities)? Brands are greater than the sum of great brands their parts – and so too are customers. that drive revenue growth and loyalty, but building them at a lower cost and faster than your competition! 60 61

categorIes transformatIon A good branding strategist is capable of completely transforming categories to create new categories or sub-categories. Personal diaries were probably not considered “expressive” until the advent of the Filofax brand. Similarly, owning a TV might be considered low in self-expression, but an iPhone makes a statement. Other examples include Apple’s iMac, Herman Miller’s Aeron chair, a Burberry raincoat, Louis Vuitton bag or an Aston Martin. While credit cards and fine writing instruments were once status symbols, “expressive” items are now replaced by personal electronic gadgets like iPhone and Blackberries. SAYS A LOT ABOUT ME SAYS NOTHING ABOUT ME SAYS A LOT ABOUT ME NOW SAYS LESS ABOUT ME NOW A CHAIR A PEN A TELEVISION A CREDIT CARD A CELL PHONE A LAPTOP 62 63

brand and consumer the Involvement grId personalIty Brand personalities help firms differentiate their products from the competition and build brand equity (value). “Stand for something or you’ll fall for anything!” Consumers don’t buy products, they buy the personalities associated with those products. Big k cola and Coke are equal in taste tests … but not in market share. Consumers don’t buy on taste alone. Brand personalities help consumers define their own self concepts and express their identities to others. People find meaning only through those brands with personalities, not from products. HIGH INVOLVEMENT SUV Designer Hand Bag Mini Van Plasma TV Personal Computer Cigars InformatIve affectIve Digital Camera Skateboard Perfume Sneakers Spaghetti DVD Player THINk FEEL Tea Bags Air Conditioner Toaster habItual satIsfactIon Milk Diapers Detergent Paint Bottled Water Pencil Salt LOW INVOLVEMENT 64 65

advertIsIng and What more can brandIng be branded? Brand management has been taking Companies have been successful in place for years without a unified theory. branding bricks, paper, chickens, diamonds, Common sense branding is widely milk, salt, sugar, oranges, bananas, practiced. There are fundamental questions microprocessors and even air, water and about its underlying principles. Many sand. Universities, cities, charities and equate great creative ideas and advertising celebrities have been successful in branding campaigns to successful brand building. their cultures, causes, streets and styles. The romanticized view of advertising is And while the no-brand or anti-brand that it can change what people think about movement has successfully made it’s point, your brand. Advertising does not change we all know that no logo is still some brand. what people think about your brand (which So how much is too much? Is there a is always difficult). It only has them think saturation point where we’re sopping wet about your brand. from too much branding, a tipping point Despite a recent boom in articles and where we fall into the abyss of advertising books on the subject, branding remains an and product identification. art. There are unrealistic expectations Maybe. Probably not. Actually, only if that methodologies or approaches are out and when the best brands cease to engage there that can consistently, repetitively or consumers on levels of symbolic and systematically create great brands. We have social interaction. solved only one third of the brand puzzle. WHAT WE kNOW WHAT WE DON’T kNOW 66

the brand as a sIgn brand customer InteractIons and relatIonshIps “The brand Social and symbolic interaction begins This is the business case for brands. matrIx at the level of the sign. Like a sign, a brand It’s both limited and limiting. It suggests is a set doesn’t exist within the global system that brands exist in a closed system of brands except by opposition to and inhabited only by products, their creators difference from other brands: you need and managers. For an anthropologist, of relations your own signifier (Swoosh) and signified the brand is a set of relations between (victory) to make your brand (Nike) part people in time and space. Like the between of the consumer lexicon. Without differen- sign, it is a communicative tool that helps tiation, you’re not communicating anything people choreograph consumption, products in of substance to consumers. Without facilitate the flow of social relations and substance, they won’t have any reason identify the value and appropriateness time.” to care about you, anything to say of our relationships with each other. about you and, most importantly, any reason to make your brand come to – Celia Lury, life between themselves. Brands: The Logos of the Global Economy FREqUENT BRAND CUSTOMER INTERACTION COMPETITION ATHLETICISM Brand building consists mainly Brand maintenance VICTORY of mass media advertising, efforts are required to sustain point-of-sale and packaging. the overall brand presence. Customer seldom needs Event-driven interactions occur to have contact with brand only during a short and owner. Channel partners intense period of time. control most of the customer Examples: Real Estate Agents, experience. Most fast Car Dealers, Funeral Homes, moving consumer products Private Bankers, belong to this quadrant. Cosmetic Surgeons etc. CLOSE DISTANT BRAND-CUSTOMER BRAND-CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP RELATIONSHIP Brand building is mostly driven Brand building impact is vastly by customer experience. influenced by the frequent Internal branding is vital and interactions with customers by operationalization of the front line employees. PERFORMANCE brand will need to be allocated A lot of marketing automation is with considerable resource. done through call center The resulting impact can and the internet due to be sustaining and build strong economic reasons. Examples: competitive barriers. Credit Cards, Utilities, Examples: Hotels, Airlines, Mail Order Merchants, Retail Banking, Retailing, NIkE Cable TV etc. STREET STYLE Restaurants etc. INFREqUENT BRAND CUSTOMER INTERACTION 68 69

Is there a theory? Why do we need a theory for strategic brand management? Because theory is eminently practical. Managers are the world’s most voracious consumer of Branding by Branding by theories. Every time a brand marketing decision is made, it is usually based on Planning Customer Experience some implicit understanding of what causes what and why. The real problem is that they often use a one-size-fits-all Procter & Gamble Starbucks theory. There are many ways to build great brands. Here are the four basic approaches: Coca Cola Bodyshop 1. PLANNING Nestle Southwest Airline 2. IMAGERY 3. CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE 4. SELF-EXPRESSION Intel Hertz Gillette Disney kodak Marriott GM Google Branding by Branding by Imagery Self-Expression Abercrombie & Fitch Louis Vuitton Calvin klein Gap American Apperal Prada BMW Swatch Absolut Apple Milk VW Beetle Tag Heuer Allsteel 70 71

brandIng by brandIng by plannIng Imagery Here branding is approached as part of Here branding is approached in a more a formal strategic planning process. Most of functional manner. Usually advertising the time this occurs in the context of agencies take a leading role and advertising strategic marketing planning. The typical is linked to branding. The levers of brand approach uses portfolio and product life building consist mainly of TV commercials, cycle concepts together with overall market posters and print advertisements. overviews and competitive intelligence. In some cases, a first showing of a The information is distilled and analyzed 60-second TV spot during the Super Bowl is through each individual brand’s performance a milestone of the brand building effort. in terms of market share and margin Visually stunning posters and magazines in national magazines such as Vogue or contribution. The heart of the exercise is Vanity Fair are also used. Marketers and positioning to ensure that products cover all necessary profitable or emerging agencies closely link the brand to creative segments and use brand to achieve these advertising execution. objectives. Usually, multi-brand organ- Sometimes the burden is given to a izations and category managers assume the celebrated photographer. The Calvin klein ownership role of the brand portfolio and success is hugely indebted to Bruce Weber manage the brand architecture. The key is and Benetton to Oliver Toscani. These to articulate the overall brand strategy photographers gave those brands meaning. and approach (e.g., a master brand approach The risk here is that advertising failure using targeted sub-brands). This entails means brand failure. But a great campaign far more than just organizing the brands as produces a very desirable brand and many individual performers. To truly optimize products and advertising agencies came to their value requires a dynamic framework fame with just one highly memorable that makes the most of their inter-rela- campaign. The marketer continues to enjoy tionships under a system of brands working the benefits for years. together to drive clarity in the marketplace and increase synergy and leverage within the company’s portfolio. 72 73

brandIng by brandIng by customer experIence self-expressIon Companies see customers taking functional Here companies put the role of brand benefits, product quality and a positive building partially into the hands of brand image as a given. What they want customers. This has long been practiced is products, services and marketing by the luxury and sporting goods communications that dazzle their senses, industries as well as the fashion industry, touch their hearts and stimulate their where there’s never enough time to minds. Here the customer becomes the build a relevant and meaningful brand most important part of the brand. Over that keeps pace with fast-changing the years many brands have transformed customer needs. Consumers in these themselves into experience brands by categories do not want to use the creating a compelling customer experience. brand to endorse or reflect his or her Starbucks and Body Shop did not use personality; rather it contributes to mass advertising to build brands. Instead, building a personal or individual brand. they put their resources into designing In other words, strong brand identities and delivering unique experiences. The deter customers because they dominate. Tiffany & Co. experience consists not The consumer uses the brand as a tool only of the purchase experience, but also or status symbol, then adds in his or her the whole experience of giving and receiving own hallmark to express who they are, something special. The Tiffany & Co. who they want others to think they are and trademark is inseparably linked to the ageless how they see the world and things. The elegance and quality that define the brand. brand only requires some associated The blue box serves as an identifier and meaning so customers can pick, mix and sensory reminder of this, as does the Hermès match with other values or uses he or orange box and ribbons. Yahoo and she identifies with as part of building his Amazon.com set the standard for online or her “Me” brand. Consumers actively experience by relentlessly improving participate in creating meanings for brands. user experiences. 74 75

Brand success is a case of More Than Sometimes, they do more than actively Of these, Desirability is where branding Meets The Eye. That Pabst Blue Ribbon has participate. By transforming basic products usually enters the picture. But in the case enjoyed increasing sales in a dwindling into complex signifiers of identity, perfor- of Pabst Blue Ribbon, Nike’s Air Force 1 beer market since 2002, Nike’s Air Force mance and social membership, consumers and Levi’s jeans, branding didn’t enter the 1 has been re-mastered and sold out often oversee some of the finer details of picture until well into the success curve in more design manifestations than any how a brand is ‘managed’ in the real world. of these brands. One day, maybe after product maybe ever and, although the With help from Marlon Brando to Dee Dee fumbling through sales reports, someone in last few years haven’t been kind, Levi’s 501s Ramone to the kids they stood for, work an office woke up to the fact that kids on have been a fashion staple for over wear first sewn up in 19th Century San the street made these brands hot, not Brand 50 years is testament to what it is that Francisco and then ripped around the world Managers or media buys. transforms products into brands: became the global signifier of youth culture. Thanks to early B-boys in Baltimore, Does that USABILITY Philadelphia and New York City, a 1982 Does it work for me, work well and fit basketball sneaker with no advertising mean I can’t into my life? or marketing budget became an enduring icon of global hip hop culture. CONSUMABILITY architect And with Portland bike messengers latching Does it taste good? Look good? Feel good? on to its underdog status and bar discounts, a down-and-out beer became a celebration consumer PERFORMATIVITY of American low-brow culture. Does it help do/say/be/show something attraction important? DESIRABILITY to my brand? Is there a social, cultural or personal need it fulfills? No. What it means is that consumer cultures and communities are often best left to their own devices to build themselves from the ground up with their own rules and regulations. With a little field exploration to determine the boundaries that these cultures and communities wish to keep, permeate or dissolve between you and them – and with a healthy respect for those boundaries should you want to maintain your most loyal consumer base - you might collaborate, nurture or simply help perpetuate the conditions under which they will continue to thrive. 76 77

managIng brand meanIng 78 79

most common Where to start? confusIons If a company wants to be regarded in a certain way (brand identity), everything must People often confuse a new name or logo People often confuse corporate Identity support that desired identity. with branding. Many companies have with corporate branding. The “corporate Does the corporate/business strategy and been led to believe that if they get a new identity” approach is preferred by design the company’s execution against it support brand name, logo and marketing materials, firms in the business of logo and brand name that desired identity? If so, then the desired they’ve solved the branding problem. This development, letterhead design, stationery brand identity may be appropriate (obviously, is the number one mistake most companies and business forms, uniforms, shop interiors, there are a lot of other considerations). make when it comes to branding. This etc. However, brand name and logo are If not, the brand identity will not be attainable is a costly proposition, and the end result not the most important part of corporate until alignment is achieved. may not produce meaningful changes branding. What really matters is what the Alternately, it’s appropriate to use the to the bottom line. brand name and logo stand for, the trust they desired brand identity as an “end state” for have earned (and will earn) with customers. company management and employees We should all aspire to build trusted brands to visualize, to drive change and support the because they retain loyal customers for corporate strategy. Establish a strategic years – or even a lifetime. process to allow your company to realize that According to Wharton Professor vision over time. The company strategy J. Reibstein, the actual name of a company and brand strategy grow together towards a doesn’t make much of a difference. common direction. What companies end up doing is a significant amount of advertising and creating an image around the name. Start with Brand Strategy or Business Strategy? START WITH BRAND IDENTITY Everything a company does should come from this BRAND IDENTITY AS A FINAL GOAL Everything a company does should work towards this 80 81

managIng brand Brands with lower brand meaning simply cannot support many extensions. For brand meanIng extensions, answer these questions: companies aggressively expand their (based on past performance), Nestlé’s 1988 If a brand does not have vital consumer Is the extension consistent with your longer product range targeting different segments. acquisition of Rowntree was about the meaning, then it is not worthwhile investing term brand vision? Mercedes owns the word engineering, future advantages that could be conjured financially and organizationally in its Does the extension actually add value to BMW performance, and Volvo safety. from the latent essences and meanings leadership. It is not worth the time and your brand? Yet when Mercedes launched the C-series of its brands. resources to push it or to make it a to appeal to younger segments, BMW Al Ries and Jack Trout wrote that “owning rallying point for the skills of the company’s Are you able to deliver on the branded launched the 7 series for those who a word in the prospect’s mind” is the people; nor is it worthwhile living the customer experience? appreciate state-of-the-art engineering and most powerful concept. This occurs when value relationships that emerge from the Is the benefit consistent with your Volvo revamped its product range with the association is so strong that any word branding process. positioning? a sportier look to suggest speed, those is immediately linked to a brand. They Conversely, if a brand does have vital associations quickly became meaningless. insisted that “no matter how complicated (and self-perpetuating) consumer meaning, If this extension fails, is it a major or minor the product, no matter how complicated companies discover that there are more setback for your brand? the needs of the market, it’s always better to significant similarities than differences among focus on one word or benefit rather two consumers in their sphere of business or three.” as they market a brand’s essence around This is often true of any single product the world. or category brand, but today’s brands have Rowntree failed to recognize that an become very sophisticated. Owning impulse-grabbing concept like “have a break, category words and benefit-related words have a kit kat” could capture consumer are not enough. Competitors will try to imagination and establish a global and local undermine this association. Instead, own ‘time-out’ place in consumer lives. Nestlé values beyond the narrow focus of didn’t. Appreciating that Rowntree’s leading functional benefits. Benefit-related word brands had enough meaning invested in association is less powerful when quality, them to be worthwhile, they purchased the service and design are at par and company. More than just a US$4.5 value HIGH MOST MEANINGFUL AND MOST DIFFICULT TO IMITATE, BUT HARDEST TO CREATE, DELIVER AND SUSTAIN BELIEFS AND VALUES LEVEL OF BRAND MEANING BENEFITS Bottled Water Regular Jeans ATTRIBUTES EASIEST TO DELIVER, BUT LEAST MEANINGFUL AND Regular VERY EASILY IMITATED Coffee LOW LOW HIGH DEGREE OF PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION 82 83

BRAND brands and customer value What is the difference between a Value’s elusive meaning AWARENESS Brand Promise and a Mission Statement? Value is a simple word with a complex The basic difference is one of perspective. meaning. Value is defined in the mind of A mission statement generally articulates the customer. Yet, value is neither a IS NOT an organization’s internal perspective constant nor even a consistent impression. regarding direction and objectives. On the Value depends both on situation and other hand, the Brand Promise is written context. A customer’s perception of value primarily from the customers’ perspective, can and usually does change with time THE SAME AS articulating the essence of the brand’s and circumstances, often unpredictably. benefits (functional and emotional) Certain attributes of a product or service experienced through a brand’s products may be valued while others are not – and services. some features may be valued negatively. BRAND Alternatives affect value perceptions, and choices are constantly expanding. Changing needs affect value perceptions, but those needs constantly change too. DIFFERENTIATION In spite of the volatility of value’s meaning, most of the time people form relatively stable perceptions of a brand’s image, reputation and value promise. Brand marketing’s role is to bring the two together. BRAND PROMISE MISSION STATEMENT FROM A CLIENT’S FROM THE EXTERNAL ORGANIZATION’S PERSPECTIVE INTERNAL PERSPECTIVE 84 85

When to Invest In Is It prIce brands or Is It brands? Despite the lip service paid to developing brand strategies and investing in branding efforts, many brands are sill moving towards commoditization. They are becoming much more well-known and yet less differentiated in the minds of consumers. You must ask yourself these questions before you invest heavily in building your brand: 1. What is the level of achievable brand Price is More differentiation in your category or industry? 2. Do you have a sound growth plan as well Important than Brand as a growth mind-set in place to capitalize on your brand equity as a result of your brand investment? Online Bookstore 3. How will your existing customers respond to your increased commoditization? Rental Car Office Supply Store Brand is More Important than Price Bookstore Beer Bottled water Liquor Gas Station Automobile =? Long Distance Telephone Provider Cola Cellular Phone Personal Computer Provider Brokerage Major Household Appliance Motor Oil Source: Market Facts – Copernicus 2000 86

rethInkIng loyalty brand metrIcs Many consumers tell researchers that they Metrics provide direction, not control. are perfectly happy with the brands they They monitor progress to success are using, yet jump at the next opportunity to prevent firms from driving blindfold. to switch brands. Brand awareness and satisfaction are poor predictors of human behavior and we should not be putting too much emphasis on them. Loyalty has two different meanings: Loyalty due to a lack of choice or pure convenience vs. loyalty as a result of commitment Measured by Metric Consumer preference or Relative satisfaction as % average for Satisfaction market or competitors Relative market awareness Salience Index of switchability (or Commitment similar measure of retention, loyalty, purchase intent or relationship bonding) Perceived quality satisfaction Relative Perceived as average % of market or quality against competitors Market share (value) or Relative Price Market share (volume) I am with you I am with you because I really because you are Distribution (e.g. weighted Availability love you. convenient. % of retail outlets carrying (YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE) (THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE) the brand) 88

the brand loyalty Who’s WInnIng? myth: does market leadershIp = loyalty leadershIp? If not, then you need to decide which one is your Prime Branding Objective. In a recent worldwide survey, Young & Rubicam surveyed 30,000 consumers and 6,000 brands and found that the way to build brand equity was to focus on differentiation, not awareness. Their research found that the traditional F.R.E.D. (familiarity, relevance, esteem, and differentiation) approach to marketing was not as effective as a strategy that emphasized developing product differentiation over awareness. MARkET LEADER CONSUMER CONSUMER Market Leader = Loyalty Leader? PRODUCT MARkET LEADER’S BRAND LOYALTY CATEGORY LOYALTY RATE LEADER RATE LOYALTY LEADER CONSUMER High Loyalty Rates Cigarettes Marlboro (42) Tareyton (74) Cold Remedies Contac (38) Bayer DCT (50) Source: Don Johnson ‘A Re-examination of the Process of Branding’ Harvard Business School Headache Remedies Bayer (33) Tylenol (45) Medium Loyalty Rates Toothpaste Crest (38) Ultrabrite (39) Cooking Oil Crisco (36) Mazola (39) Cola Coca Cola (29) Tab (43) CONSUMER Low Loyalty Rates Facial Tissues kleenex (18) Puffs (28) Paper Towels Bounty (17) Brawny (22) Aluminum Reynolds (17) No-name (17) 90

“You can’t survive floating on the tide, assessing the competition, conducting surveys to find out what your customers want right now. believe in your What do you want? What do ‘it’ you want to tell the world in the future? What does your company have that will enrich the world? You must believe in that ‘it’ strongly enough to become unique at what you do.” – Jesper kunde, A Unique Moment 92 93

products vs. markets As product spaces become modularized, componentized and compartmentalized to address the individual, customized targeted needs of markets, the correspondent market space and the value chains in them become more integrated. In a sense, products disintegrate while markets become integrated. This is forced onto ever more expansive value chains. Individual Products Integrated Markets 94 95

The colonization of physical space is now extending to the mental space and happening at an even faster pace. Companies used to be product producers Courtesy of Apple Computer, Inc. Now they must become meaning brokers 96 97

arless unexpected bold radica amer resolute poetic undaunt ssy daring adventurous gent “WHO ARE YOU [these days] ?” and WHAT can you ristic individual power unwave do for me? – Tom Peters, Management Guru ocative idyllic visionary wild s daunted soulful caring dynam hentic brave unorthodox dari ful kind innovative curious hu uing active uncommon irrever ol absolute passionate joyfu sual technological fun sensib 98 99

“The idea that business the real Innovators’ dIlemma is just a numbers affair has Innovation alone does not create value. always struck me as It simply offers design and engineering feats, not things that excite real people. The preposterous. For one thing, true innovator’s dilemma is how to build brands that create barriers for competition as innovative products or technologies I’ve never been particularly become commoditized. Innovation alone is not the answer. good at numbers, but I think You must get beyond innovation. You must make the connection between I’ve done a reasonable innovation and customer value. The connection is made through the brand. job with feelings. And I’m convinced that it is feelings – and feelings alone – that account for the success of the Virgin brand in all of its myriad forms.” – Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group BRAND COMPETITION INNOVATION CUSTOMER VALUE THE BRAND THE BRAND AS A AS A BARRIER TO CONNECTION COMPETITION TO CUSTOMER VALUE 100 101

If you want to build a company “As chairman and CEO, my job is to provide a corporate structure and culture that that sustains growth and enables our cast members to perpetuate the values and traditions that fuel the Disney magic … I am, in effect, the chief shareholder value, would you brand manager.” “I take my responsibility as a steward of rather your CEO was a the brand very seriously: to protect it, enhance it and try to ensure that it is even Chief Emotions Officer or a more valuable and beloved in the 21st century than it was in the 20th. It’s a Chief Numbers Officer? responsibility I share with all 120,000 Disney cast members around the world. We all know that the Disney brand is our most valuable asset.” – Michael Eisner, Disney VALUE – + = 102 103

COMPANIES WILL THRIVE “We are in the twilight of a society based on data. As information and intelligence become the domain of computers, society will place more value on the one human ability that cannot be automated: emotion. Imagination, myth, ritual – the rich language of emotion – will affect ON everything from our purchasing decisions to how we work with others. Companies will thrive on the basis of their stories and myths. Companies will need to understand that their products are less important than their stories.” THE – Rolf Jensen, Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies BASIS OF THEIR STORIES AND MYTHS

TRUE LOYALTY IS “Most people can’t understand what would drive someone to profess his or her loyalty for our brand by tattooing our logo onto his or her body – or heart. My fellow employees and I understand completely. We also understand very clearly that this indescribable passion is ABOUT a big part of what has driven and will continue to drive our growth.” – Richard Teerlink, Harley-Davison COMMITMENT

emotIonal brandIng “A great brand taps into emotions. Emotions drive most, if not all, of our decisions. A brand reaches out with a powerful connecting experience. It’s an emotional connecting point that transcends the product.” – Scott Bedbury Nike, Starbucks 1. MEANING 3. CONNECTIVITY 2. AUTHENTICITY 4. RELEVANCY 108 109

“A great brand is a story that’s never completely told. A brand is a metaphorical story that connects with something very deep – a fundamental appreciation of mythology. Stories create the emotional context people need to locate themselves in a larger experience.” – Scott Bedbury Nike, Starbucks Once upon a time… VERY IMPORTANT: THE STORY NEVER ENDS 110 111

“Most executives have no idea how to add value to a market in the metaphysical world. But that is what the market will cry out for in the future. There is no lack of ‘physical’ products to choose between.” – Jesper kunde, A Unique Moment [on the excellence of Nokia, Nike, Lego, Virgin et al.] PRODUCTS IN THE METAPHYSICAL WORLD PRODUCTS IN THE PHYSICAL WORLD 112 113

marketer as healer What’s your healIng benefIt? What more can you do to today’s consumers’ already battered brain? More The new reality for marketers is that only new products, more new services, those offerings that go beyond the need for more out-bound direct marketing phone superior product quality, competitive calls during dinner time and more stress? pricing and emotional driven image-building If others are selling stress, then the communications to deliver some healing market is need of products that heal. benefit beyond the functional purpose of the product itself will have enough consumer How about the marketer appeal to break through the defense. This will be a new competitive dimension. as Meta-Physician and From recycled to sustainable to CSR and beyond, doing good unto ourselves, our consumers and others will differentiate the Brand as Prescription? the past from the new present, the leaders from the followers. OR qUALITY SUPERI PETITIVE PRICING COM AL COMMUNICA TI O N TIO O N EM G BENEF ALIN II T HE CUSTOMER APPEAL 114 115

the challenge the solutIon How can you address and fulfill the In the space between brands and consumers consumer’s deepest needs and wants – exists a complex web of personal, social particularly if you’re not in the pharma, and cultural relationships, perceptions, cosmetics or entertainment industry? meanings, actions, reactions and interactions. It involves the deepest understanding of Understanding that web and, more what the consumer cares most about importantly, appreciating and celebrating it and what state of mind they’re in and after. for its complexity – and for how every At the heart of an effective brand strategy little vibration across it could signal impending philosophy is the belief that nothing is so doom for your brand – is absolutely key powerful as an insight into human nature, to cultivating the kinds of authentic, dynamic what compulsions drive consumers, what relationships with consumers. So how instincts their actions and how they do you do that? By nurturing a brand culture perform – even though language so often that is intensely critical, introspective camouflages what real motivations. and research centric. Here are five ways to get that culture started. 1. IF YOUR THINkING IS LOCkED IN A DATABASE, BREAk OUT OF IT! Numbers can be a prison. They reveal patterns, not people. Instead, develop a culture with an insatiable appetite for qualitative research. 2. TURN YOUR FOCUS GROUPS INTO FIELDWORk. No amount of coffee, donuts and cash-on-completion to taste chocolate bars or describe shopping patterns will mine the kind of critical, deep insights you need. Stop creating and controlling the context in which you learn about your consumer. 3. PRIORITIZE WHAT PEOPLE DO OVER WHAT THEY SAY. Interviews are good, but the most valuable answers are BRANDS CONSUMERS BRANDS CONSUMERS in the consumer’s actions. How they reflect, refute or reveal layers of articulated and unarticulated need and desire lead to the deepest insights. 4. MASH UP YOUR STAFF. Send Brand Managers out into the field with Consumer Insights, Designers with Usability and Strategists with Marketing. When a culture of collaborative research is part of every job description, every job will contribute to furthering that culture. 5. STOP BELIEVING YOUR OWN HYPE. No amount of office mythology or self-congratulations can disguise what you ARE NOT. If consumers are saying it, it’s probably true. Now is the time to start engaging them on their terms and in their language to discover the path forward. 116 117

brand leadershIp 118 119

brand management vs. the fIve brand brand leadershIp leadershIp benchmarks Brand management is tactical, visual and There are basically two different orientations reactive. It’s preoccupied with the 3 Ls of towards brand: as images and as promises. As you look at these five brand stages, branding: look, letterhead and logo. Brand It’s not surprising that there are two funda- note how they are tiered. You need to firmly leadership is visionary and promise-driven. mentally different approaches to brand establish one before you can move on to It concentrates on building brand value that development as well. These two approaches, the next. translates into loyalty and market power. brand management and brand leadership, Metrics are in place to measure progress. The are codified by David Aaker and differ in a goal is brand equity. variety of ways. Brand management and brand leadership Brand management focuses on the short- represent two ends of a vast continuum. term. Its primary tool is promotion. Brand For many marketers, brand leadership might managers never have enough money and initially be out of reach and exists only on seldom have true control over the dollars the company’s annual report. Their quickest they do have. Brand leadership is about the gains might actually be generated by a long-term. Brand leaders understand consistent brand management strategy. To that building brand equity takes time, money, build a brand promise that consumers and talent. They know that a successful will value and, in doing so, help build brand brand is not built in one budget year or one equity, it is essential for everyone in that product launch. Brand leadership is based continuum to understand the progression of on the premise that brand building not only branding from management to leadership. creates brand equity, but is also necessary for institutional success. With brand leadership, the institution’s most senior leaders recognize that building the brand results in a competitive advantage that pays financially. 5. BEHAVIOR 4. EXPERIENCES Your brand is successful if the perceptions you create motivate positive 3. VISION customer behavior. Your brand is working In other words, if these experiences do people CATEGORY BRAND BRAND create the desired follow through? MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP perceptions in the minds 2. CONSISTENCY and hearts of your You manage your customers. Remember, Focus Limited Broad brand to ensure that the brand perceptions these experiences and relationships Product-market scope Single Products-Markets Multiple products and markets conform to your brand you want to own are 1. TOUCH-POINTS vision and brand those of relevance. Brand structures Simple Complex brand architectures Your brand is promise. At this level, consistent and you branding is strategic, Number of brands Focus on Single brands Category focus-multiple brands ensure that the not tactical. experiences all Country scope Single country Global or national perspective communicate the Your brand is the sum same thing to Communication focus External customer only Internal as well as external of the experiences your customers and that your customers have prospects. whenever they are exposed to your product, service or message. It is this breadth across all touch-points and functions that gives a brand depth and endurance. 120 121

understandIng brand Brand architecture is the logical, strategic and relational structure for all of the brands archItecture in the organization’s brand portfolio. The objective is to maximize clarity, synergy and Creating a clear brand architecture to help leverage to maximize customer value and structure position for today and tomorrow internal efficiencies. helps build that brand by ensuring everyone within an organization works to a common and clearly understood goal. GM has 33 brand names, P&G has hundreds, BMW has three, IBM has 2 and Starbucks has one. Between mergers and acquisitions, aggressive brand extensions, the increasingly complexities of sub-brands, endorsed brands and co-brands, it gets more and more complicated. Often the task includes a periodic regrouping of multiple product groups and brand families, reposi- tioning them to reflect their role in the market and to create a structure for immediate success. Establishing a clear and coherent brand architecture creates structure within MASTER BRAND which vital day-to-day tactical decisions can be made. Without this brand architecture in place, these tactical decisions become strategic and long-winded in nature. STAND- STAND- STAND- SUB- SUB- SUB- SUB- SUB- ALONE ALONE ALONE BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT PRODUCT BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND BRAND 122 123

understandIng brand archItecture and archItecture posItIonIng Advantages of developing a brand P&G’s brand architecture effectively architecture: manages the relationships between product, brands and market segments. Head & 1. It helps everyone in the organization Shoulders dominates the dandruff control see and understand all the connections shampoo category and Pert Plus targets between corporate brands, sub-brands the market for combined shampoo and and master brands. conditioner. Pantene is positioned as a brand 2. It simplifies decision making when it with a technological heritage and the comes to allocating and sharing marketing power to enhance hair vitality. The three resources such as advertising and brands optimize their brand coverage promotions. by not being merchandised under a P&G product brand name. The lesson? Avoid 3. It protects brands from becoming a brand association that is incompatible over-leveraged and diluted by over- with another offering and may adversely extending communications messages affect its performance. and graphic design options. VISIBLE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN BRANDS SIMPLIFIED kEEPS DECISION- BRANDS MAkING PURE 124 125

understandIng brand case study: archItecture branded house vs. house of brands It is very difficult to offer a generalization on The needs usually consist of one or more how to put a vast number of brands in of the following: categories and wed sets of them and their 1. Create and own a different set of relationships into a composite brand associations architecture. Each industry and category context is different, as are corporate 2. Develop a totally new product offering views. The tendency is towards having a or a category master brand. Only when there is a 3. Avoid conflict in brand association compelling need (and a budget) should a and identities separate brand be considered. The big question is: can the business support a 4. Avoid channel conflict new brand? 5. Create a price-driven label for competitive reasons 6. Fulfill needs for new geographies or unique customer segments BRANDED HOUSE HOUSE OF BRANDS GENERAL ELECTRIC: PROCTOR & GAMBLE: BRANDED HOUSE A HOUSE OF BRANDS 126 127

brand separatIon spectrum Branded House of Endorsed House House House Sub-Brands of Brands of Brands = / SAME IDENTITY DIFFERENT CO-DRIVERS STRONG LINkED TOkEN SHADOW NOT UMBRELLA IDENTITY ENDORSEMENT NAME ENDORSEMENT ENDORSER CONNECTED AS DRIVER BMW Gillette Sensor GE Capital Courtyard DkNY Grape-Nuts Tide Thomson Buick LeSabre GE Appliance by Marriott from Post (P&G) (GE) Sony Sony Trinitron McMuffin HP DeskJet Club Med Obsession Sony Lexus Saturn Virgin DuPont Stainmaster Singles vs. Couples byCalvin klein Nestea PlayStation (Toyota) (GM) VW Beetle Levi – Europe Friends & Family Docker’s Touchtone NutraSweet Levi – U.S.A. by MCI LS&Co. (Disney) (G.D.Searle)

case study: sony brand archItecture Sony chooses a single-minded, powerful and yet flexible architecture and leverages their corporate brand in many different ways. CO-BRAND CORPORATE UMBRELLA AS DRIVER ENDORSER BRAND INGREDIENT BRAND SHADOW ENDORSER

luxury brand marketIng 132 133

What Is a luxury Luxury used to belong to a few privileged few. Not any more. It’s no longer about simply brand? fashion goods, wine, jewelry, handbags and accessories. Luxury is transforming scores What qualifies a brand as a luxury brand? of markets. It comes in many forms, at many In economic terms, luxury products are price levels and through a variety of channels, those whose price/quality/service relationship no longer confined to a few upscale shops is the highest on the market or a product on Rodeo Drive, Fifth Avenue or Bond Street. that can consistently command and justify a Almost every marketer needs to consider higher price than those with comparable THE LUXURY BRAND whether or not they have a luxury brand functions and similar quality. There is always strategy in place. Pure Artist, Creator and an argument for why some brands qualify Unique Creation. as luxury and others are simply well known. The question is: Not Scalable Business Mckinsey defines luxury brands as those Who will be which “have constantly been able to justify a high price, i.e. significantly higher than the the first one to price of products with comparable tangible functions”. This strict economic explanation effectively does not help explain how well-known brands are differentiated from luxury brands. A Jaguar is considered less expensive capture this than a Porsche, but in terms of comparable THE LEADING BRAND tangible functions it has a much stronger segment in your Pure Artist, Creator and luxury brand image than Porsche. For some Unique Creation. reason, Porsche is fast and expensive, just category? Not Scalable Business not luxury. A Breitling watch is generally more expensive than a watch from Tiffany, Hermès or Gucci, yet it is often perceived Luxury hasn’t changed. What’s changing is as prestigious, not luxurious. its definition. Once closely associated with high price, prestige and ostentation, MASSIFICATION OF LUXURY BRAND as large segments of consumers move upscale and luxury goods move downscale, we’re seeing an explosive growth in THE qUALITY BRAND what is being called the “massification of Exclusive, luxury goods”. VALUE Prestige Image, The massification of luxury has been the Highest quality single most important marketing phenom- and Service enon of modern times. It goes beyond what we see today: marketers connecting luxury to products that were never in that league. Advertising and packaging common products with words such as gourmet, premium, classic, gold and platinum means that all consumers, whether they can afford true luxury or not, get a taste of the tantalizing. And thanks to eBay, more THE BETTER BRAND and more people have access to the finer, Mass Produced, Good once out-of-reach things in life at an Overall Price/Value/Image affordable price. Equation If anyone can afford it does it cease to be luxury? The answer is, Definitely Not. It only makes such items that much more desirable. Social philosophers like Pierre Bourdieu have shown the relationship between consumption, class and identity. THE HERMèS BIRkIN HANDBAG THE COACH BAG In creating one’s identity and place in IS LUXURIOUS IS NOT THE BRAND the world, few things in life proclaim status Constantly Under and superiority than purchasing, owning Cost Pressures, Unable to and displaying luxury goods. Build Brand Equity, Usually Outside of the Top Three in Market Share Leadership 134 135

the old luxury the neW luxury SLAVES TO BRANDS WANTS qUALITY BUYS THEM THROUGH AND SERVICE MULTIPLE CHANNELS, AT ALL PRICE POINTS AT MULTIPLE PRICE POINTS A VERY SMALL ONLY FOR THE SEGMENT VERY RICH LESS ABOUT CONSPICUOUS FIERCELY LOCAL, SUPERB CRAFTSMANSHIP, ONLY AVAILABLE CONSUMPTION AND ALWAYS LOOk HIGH qUALITY IN SELECTIVE MORE ABOUT SELF-RESPECT FOR A BRAND’S AND HIGH SERVICE UP-SCALE SHOPS AND FULFILLING PERSONAL HERITAGE EMOTIONAL NEEDS 136 137

LIVING the alternatIve vIeW of marketIng IS Marketing is the ultimate social practice of MORE postmodern consumer culture. It plays a key role in giving meaning to life through consumption. OF So is marketing too important to be left to marketers alone? A qUESTION OF WHAT ONE SPENDS THAN WHAT ONE MAkES. – Marcel Duchamp MANOLO BL AHNIk 138 139

fIt In. be cool. the neW value add of advertIsIng The standard of judgment becomes the ability to interact effectively with others, to As a brand marketer, your job is to win their affection and admiration – to construct, maintain and communicate merge with others of the same lifestyle. identity and social meanings to others. What is important: Can you consume the right brands? FIT IN BE COOL FIT IN BE COOL FIT IN FIT IN FIT IN FIT IN BE COOL BE COOL VERY HIP BE COOL BE COOL BE COOL FIT IN BE COOL FIT IN 140

In the old culture, the limited production What you buy is now more important capacity of the economy sharply reduced than what you make. Luxury is not a goal aspirations to material comfort. Today, anymore, for many it is a necessity. much greater material satisfaction lies within It starts with a need and an anxiety to the reach of even those of modest means. resolve it. The experience ends, if successful, with a feeling of relaxation or satisfaction. Thus a producer culture If it does not satisfy the need, the process is repeated. We judge the act by the experience. We have gone from product to process, becomes a from problem resolution to emotion seeking, from object to experience. consumer culture. PRODUCER CULTURE LUXURY ITEMS CONSUMER CULTURE PRODUCER CULTURE CONSUMER CULTURE Only a few could consume Many can consume luxury brands luxury brands WHAT YOU BUY WHAT YOU MAkE WHAT YOU BUY PROCESS PRODUCT PROCESS EMOTION SEEkING PROBLEM RESOLUTION EMOTION SEEkING EXPERIENCE OBJECT EXPERIENCE 142 143

“Any kind of possession We noW lIve In consumptIon really functions, in a sense, communItIes as an extension of our We are no longer divided by wealth, birth or political eminence but by consumption. personal power. It serves to For marketers, brands and products need to be positioned to be bought, not made. make us feel stronger… When you watch a small child cling to a piece of cloth or a doll with all its power you may begin to understand the power of ownership.” – Ernest Dichter, The Soul of Things CONSUMER 144 145

THE MASSIFICATION AND DEMOCRATIZATION OF LUXURY HAS BEEN THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT MARkETING PHENOMENON OF MODERN TIME. 146 147

the real vs. Ask this important question: Luxury shoppers are led by rational desire to purchase items of high value and What are the ImagInary craftsmanship. Eight of the 10 top purchase motivators are emotionally driven. Marketers your key target Consumption sometimes operates at a level must tap into consumers’ desires for of the imaginary, but it can also have well-being, self-concept and indulgence. segments’ “real” effects in facilitating the construction The consumption of symbolic meaning, of self-identity. reinforced through advertising, provides the wildest individual with the opportunity to construct, maintain and communicate identity and imaginations? social meanings. Victoria’s Secret is a great example of using the unobtainable, imaginary dreams of its consumers to drive sales. When beautiful and perfectly proportioned models strut down the runway and grace glossy catalog pages, they say that the company’s products can enhance or even instill such glamour. If Victoria’s Secret products are worn by the beautiful, does the inverse also hold true? Will wearing them make one beautiful? 8 OF THE TOP 10 PURCHASE MOTIVATORS ARE EMOTIONALLY DRIVEN 148 149

the materIal vs. the symbolIc Just as a product fulfills its ability to satisfy a mere physical need it must satisfy a symbolic need to create our meanings of our selves. We become consumers of illusions. De Beers’ slogan, “A diamond is forever,” has been so successful in creating the illusion of eternal love that a diamond is that We become consumers illusion’s material symbol. Now marketers are trying to do the same with platinum. of illusions. Ask this important question: What illusions does your product help consumers to create or maintain? = = XXX = = 24hrs  = = BRAND ILLUSION = $$$  = 150 151

the socIal vs. the self The symbolic meanings of products operate in two directions: outward in constructing the social world, and inward towards constructing our self-identity. Products help us to become our Possible Selves. Most SUVs and sports brand images are built on the very powerful concept of becoming ourselves, just better. SUVs speak to ‘sporty’, ‘powerful’, ‘tough’ and ‘rugged’. They appeal to men (and some women) who may not travel anywhere more treacherous than the local supermarket. The Hummer sold to civilians is radically different from the one used by the military, yet the brand’s image, as an enduring, robust all-terrain vehicle remains intact. Expensive and ‘cool’, SUVs hold a carpool full of kids and their hockey equipment without saddling their upscale owners with a minivan. Ask this important question: What are your target luxury segments’ ideal possible selves? PRODUCTS HELP US TO BECOME OUR POSSIBLE SELVES.

desIre vs. satIsfactIon Advertising often provides gratification and recodes a commodity as a desirable psycho-ideological ideal. In fact, it feeds the desire to achieve the often unobtainable unity of the self, using destabilized meanings and images that separate products from their original intended use and offer the opportunity to reconstruct a self by purchasing meanings in a do-it-yourself fashion. Desire exists in the gap between visual languages and the unconscious. Desire does not want satisfaction. To the contrary, desire desires desire. Images are often so appealing that things cannot satisfy. Some people desire desirelessness with such a passion that it actually increases their ability to desire. What we do we become stronger in, and these UNOBTAINABLE people yearn so much and so often to have COMMODITY AS A DESIRABLE no more yearning that their ability to CONSUMER PSYCHO- yearn becomes astronomical. Postmodern IDEOLOGICAL consumption is inextricably linked with SIGN DESIRE aspects of sexuality, both conscious and DOES NOT subconscious. Desires are constructed WANT through linkages between consumption and SATISFACTION the human body. Visuals continue to be the most powerful tool because they never satisfy. Calvin klein, Gucci and Abercrombie and Fitch built and maintain their brands based entirely on this concept. Meaning is created through a continuous search for links between identity (social) and the self. Ask this important question: What are the unobtainable that your brands are based on? CONSUMER DESIRE DESIRES DESIRE 154 155

ratIonalIty vs. IrratIonalIty The expansion of “wants” reduces our choice to “want not” and sometimes makes the very idea of rational choice become meaningless. We’re in the era of the “empty-self” in which alienation can be solved by the “lifestyle” solution in which we construct a “self” by purchasing even of limited rationality. 156

materIalIsm vs. spIrItualIsm We use all kinds of tools everyday. We are tool users and tools are not the end but the means. So materialism does not crowd out spiritualism; spiritualism is more likely a substitute when objects are scarce. When we have fewer things, we make the next world luxurious. When we have plenty, we enchant those objects around us. 158 159

Quotes from partIcIpants of IdrIs mootee’s advanced brandIng masterclass 2008 “Luxury comes from If this is the case, then the current weak version of experience co-creation (which is exclusivity Individualism still more like mass configuration at this point, despite its own protestations to the contrary) may give way to what I have equals exclusivity. been calling “deep co-creation,” in which customers not only co-create the So by definition, every experience and some of the value, but the business itself (and, by extension time a brand gives the brand). And they will of course do this as a large, interconnected community. room to consumers to So in this changed world, a big part of people’s meaning might come from express their indi- co-creating a business and seeing it thrive. – Christian Briggs vidualism, it becomes an exclusive, luxurious “‘What constitutes good. This will luxury becomes a lead to a future of wholly individual and consumers using emotional decision.’ their self-expression Clearly the rules to get the luxury of luxury are not set into pretty much any exclusively by a brand in their few educated minds brandsphere.” anymore. Experience – Bart Suichies is luxury. Silence is luxury. To some, As “Jacques Lacan pointed out, human- beings need to learn how and what to not mentioning the desire. ‘Desire is the Desire of the Other.’ It is on the basis of this fundamental word luxury is luxury. understanding of identity that Lacan maintained throughout his career that desire Very human. Not is the desire of the Other. What is meant by him in this formulation is not the triviality so engineer-friendly.” that humans desire others, when they sexually desire (an observation which is not universally true). – André Galhardo – Flavio Azeved 160 161

about the author Idris Mootee CEO, Idea Couture Idris is an authority and expert in business and brand strategy and operates at the intersection of business strategy, experience design and emerging technologies. Idris provides C-level executive and board-level strategic counsel, innovation and strategic guidance for multiple industries that often involve leading growth initiatives and innovation management. Prior to co-founding Idea Couture, Idris was Senior VP, Chief Strategist with Blast Radius, where he was responsible globally for strategic outputs including clients such as Nike, Nintendo, Intrawest, BMW and AOL and prior to that he was global head of strategy with Organic with clients such as HP, Bell, Macy’s and Daimler Chrysler. His other experiences included and President, Chief Strategy Officer with Live Lowe and Partners with clients such as HSBC and MasterCard. He is the author of four books, dozens of published articles and has been quoted in national media including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. He received his business education from the London Business School, Harvard Business School and London Brunel Graduate School. An accomplished speaker and thought leader, Idris often speaks at international conferences and has a gift for astute observations and a lively, humorous style that engages a broad range of audiences. www.ideacouture.com blog: http://mootee.typepad.com 162 163

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http://brandhow.wordpress.com	147
http://www.scoop.it	146
url_unknown	129
http://www.linkedin.com	126
http://retailsmart.wordpress.com	122
http://21stcenturymarketing.blogspot.co.uk	105
http://servantofchaos.com	89
http://www.experienceengineer.com	87
http://sewdirty.tumblr.com	81
http://pogus.tumblr.com	74
http://brandotto.blogspot.com	73
http://rlance.tumblr.com	67
http://theemoplanner.com	67
http://www.ganador.com.au	62
http://eworkspace	62
http://moodvertising.tumblr.com	61
http://nik-nightingale.com	59
http://gestion-de-marca-online.blogspot.com	58
http://zootool.com	56
http://mercuryonestrategy.blogspot.com	56
http://kashifwaqarkhan.blogspot.com	55
http://www.levidepoches.fr	54
http://www.holycowthinks.com	52
http://www.levidepoches.blogs.com	52
http://thinklimbic.com	51
http://www.erikposthuma.com	50
http://patchaure.blogspot.com	50
http://smallbizmarks.blogspot.com	50

60 Minute Brand Strategist: Extended and updated hard cover NOW available.

by Idris Mootee

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